This band started out in 1993 in Orlando Florida recording demos that were released, but it took until 2007 for the band to ink a deal with Blind Prophecy Records and release their debut album. The only member change that has taken place during all these years was when bassist Eric Payne joined the band and made them, according to the bio, sound better than ever.

All fans of extreme music are gonna love this album. The disc is an explosion of technical and aggressive thrash metal teamed up with grind elements. The mean guitar riffs are extremely fast and mean and the death metal lead vocals cut like razors into the thick, angry atmosphere.

The intro that starts off the 10-track album is called “The Death of Johnny Beans” and it’s the perfect kickoff for this hellish nightmare. The disc clocks in at 40 minutes and during that time you experience every element between life and death. But although the music is extremely heavy and fast, the members forgot to add melodies and content into the material.

WAITING FOR THE FLIES was produced by the well-known Eric Rutan (Hate Eternal, Cannibal Corpse) and he is the perfect man to produce an album like this. He’s built a solid wall of angry riffs and diverse lead vocals. The rhythm section has a central position and the production sounds just as brutal as I’d like it to.

I’m really impressed by this band’s debut disc and recommend it to all extreme metal lovers. Take a dive into the deep black and see if you return to the surface.

Track Listing

1. The Death of Johnny Beans (intro)
2. Body Farm
3. Martyr System
4. What’s Left of it (the test of Rats)
5. And Now, a Word from the Living
6. Behind the Broken
7. All but the Dying
8. In Dim Light
9. What the Dead Whisper
10. Waiting for the Flies

Orlando’s Pain Principle has been kicking around the underground for quite a long time now. They self-released their first album back in 1995 and followed that with another independent release in 1999. They’ve been relatively quiet since then and are now back with WAITING FOR THE FLIES, their third release, and first on a label.

According to the ever-popular Metal Archives, the band’s early sounds was power metal but that’s certainly not the case on this album. No, WAITING FOR THE FLIES sounds like something that could have come out in 2001 or 2002 – in other words, an early metalcore album. While this is undoubtedly metalcore, it’s kind of cool in 2008 to hear a band that harkens back to the genesis of the genre when the influence of melodic death metal was still very pronounced. Seriously, just listen to “Martyr System” for proof. You just don’t hear that Swedish influence in most of the metalcore being released today. It’s actually refreshing...to a point.

It’s also completely derivative and stuck with the “heard it all before” stigma. Yet somehow I’d much rather listen to this than drivel like Within Chaos (also reviewed this month). There’s just a head banging quality to songs like “What’s Left of It” and “What the Dead Whisper” that’s missing from today’s metalcore scene.

While this is a fun album, I can’t recommend it wholeheartedly. After all, it’s still metalcore and carries all the stigmas associated with that. But if you have to listen to a metalcore album this year, WAITING FOR THE FLIES is as good as any. Give it a try.

Track Listing

1) The Death of Johnny Beans
2) Body Farm
3) Martyr System
4) What’s Left of It (The Feast of Rats)
5) And Now, A Word From the Living
6) Behind the Broken
7) All But the Dying
8) In Dim Light
9) What the Dead Whisper
10) Waiting for the Flies